Universal Analytics

Universal Analytics

For many marketers, Universal Analytics is now the method for analyzing where visitor flows come from, how they move across a website and how a campaign is performing. Then, of course, the challenge is to optimize campaigns based on that data.  

But due to privacy laws, it will soon no longer be possible to do that based on Universal Analytics. This is because Google is phasing out Universal Analytics. That makes it important for marketers to take action now, so that you will still have historical data and build data in 2024.   

Consider alternatives to collect user data

That means that for many companies, they will have to start considering alternatives to collect insight and data about the usage of an application or app.  

As of 1 July 2023, the current version of Google Analytics, Universal Analytics, will no longer collect data. So you will no longer be building data that you can leverage. In addition, somewhere between 1 October 2023 and 31 December 2023 (3-6 months), your historical data will no longer be accessible.

Consideration when choosing an alternative

Before choosing, it's good to take a moment to consider a few things:

  • Data ownership: Do you want to own the data being collected? Or is it OK that the tracking party does?   
  • Data portability: Do you want to be able to export the data if you want to switch tracking tools in the future?  
  • In which country will the data be stored? And does the exact country matter within your strategy?    

Questions that we are happy to advise you on, and which also depend on your own policy and vision for the future.

What are my options?

Google itself has already introduced Google Analytics 4 (GA4) in July 2020. GA4 is event-based and has a totally different interface than UA. GA4 works cross-platform: you can link apps AND websites in one report and with a different measurement model: you no longer measure based on sessions, but based on events. Everything is an event, including pageviews.  

There are also other event-based packages available, such as Snoobi analytics, Adobe Analytics and Amplitude. For each company, the options are different. To make a good future-proof trade-off, you will have to carefully weigh issues such as legal positions, business impact and commercial considerations. 

Would you like advice on choices for the coming period? Make an appointment now to go through your options and make a plan of action. 

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